Milwaukee Bucks: Eric Bledsoe’s awful postseason is his third strike

After three consecutive disappointing postseason performances, Eric Bledsoe has shown that he isn’t the ideal fit as the starting point guard for the Milwaukee Bucks.

For the third consecutive year, the Milwaukee Bucks have experienced heartbreak in the NBA playoffs, and starting point guard Eric Bledsoe can be considered one of the scapegoats for their frustrating postseason exits.

The Bucks had their bubble burst following a Game 5 loss against the fifth-seeded Miami Heat on Tuesday night, which means they have fallen short once again of their lofty expectations of at least reaching the NBA Finals. During that crucial loss that was obviously a must-win game, Eric Bledsoe scored just 9 points on 2-of-12 shooting (16.6 percent) from the field in 36 minutes.

League MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo was inactive for the Bucks due to an ankle sprain, so Bledsoe was heavily relied on to be at his best if Milwaukee was going to prevail. Unfortunately, Bledsoe let his team down again, and now the questions will begin to resurface whether his abilities are good enough for a starting role on a championship-caliber team.

In Bledsoe’s first postseason with the Milwaukee Bucks after he was acquired from Phoenix in November of the 2017-18 season, he was simply outplayed by Terry Rozier as the Bucks fell to a depleted Boston Celtics squad in the first round of the playoffs.

Then if you fast forward to the next postseason, Bledsoe basically disappeared in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Toronto Raptors in what was the most important series for the Bucks in over a decade. Bledsoe would average 10.2 points per game on an abysmal 29.4 percent field goals and 17.2 percent from 3-point range in that series as the Bucks would ultimately collapse by losing four straight to the eventual 2019 NBA Champions.

History repeats itself again for Eric Bledsoe and the Milwaukee Bucks

Now here we are again with Eric Bledsoe and the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks failing to meet expectations after being eliminated by the Miami Heat in just the second round. In that series, Bledsoe recorded averages of 11.8 points per game on a whopping 33.3 percent shooting from the floor and 21.4 percent from beyond the arc.

It’s no coincidence that Bledsoe has struggled in each defeated playoff series as a Buck, so it’s fair to allocate some of the blame toward him. His defense has always been a valuable component to the Bucks, but his offense has mostly become a liability.

Unlike his defensive presence, Bledsoe’s abilities offensively don’t match Milwaukee’s decorated system. Head coach Mike Budenholzer has implemented an offensive system where spacing and letting it fly from 3 has been prioritized, but Bledsoe’s presence in the offense has turned out to be detrimental for the most part since his perimeter shooting has been nowhere near efficient.

In addition, his poor decision-making with the ball and bad habits have proved to be a harmful factor within Milwaukee’s offense.

Here’s an example above of Bledsoe driving to the basket without a real purpose, then makes the wrong decision by leaving his feet for no reason and forcing a pass through traffic, which results in a costly turnover during crunch time.

Once he penetrates into the interior after Giannis sets the screen, Miami is patiently waiting for him. He should know that he isn’t going to find a high percentage shot right away in this situation, especially against a versatile defender like Bam Adebayo, so he should at least keep his dribble and either wait for Giannis to establish position in the paint or reset the possession. Instead, he forces a pass and turns it over with 17 seconds on the shot clock.

Combine Eric Bledsoe’s poor decision-making with his shot attempts and it could really become a disaster. Time after time again, Bledsoe takes inefficient shots early in the shot clock that are just not needed.

On this possession, watch how Bledsoe initially avoids the screen from Khris Middleton, ignores the screen from Giannis, and ends up settling for a tough midrange jumper after picking up his dribble in a spot where you shouldn’t pick up your dribble.

There’s really no intent from him again, and that type of shot is unacceptable for a team that should create efficient opportunities on each offensive possession. Bledsoe’s inability to shoot efficiently outside of the paint hurts Milwaukee’s spacing, so he clearly isn’t the right fit for the Bucks’ offensive system and is not the ideal point guard to surround Giannis Antetokounmpo with.

Giannis needs to have shooters around him, which Eric Bledsoe is not. Additionally, Bledsoe can’t be effective enough in the pick and roll. When Bledsoe initiates the pick and roll with Giannis as the roller, opposing defenses will drop off to contain Giannis in hopes of making Bledsoe shoot the shot.

It’s difficult to include Bledsoe in the Bucks’ offense since his presence negatively affects the spacing and his inconsistent shooting causes him to be so limited. On top of that, the poor decisions that he consistently commits don’t help his case either.

Notice as Wesley Matthews prepares to come set Eric Bledsoe a screen here in this offensive possession in the fourth quarter, Bledsoe just decides to launch a contested 3 with 16 seconds on the shot clock. Another horrendous decision. Reggie Miller said it best during the TNT broadcast when he stated, “I mean, why?”

Opposing teams will be comfortable with Bledsoe taking a shot from the perimeter every time. The Heat purposely left him open numerous times during their series in favor of helping in the interior, which they should have since Bledsoe has yet to prove himself as a consistent shooting threat from the outside.

In his postseason career, Bledsoe is shooting 25.4 percent from 3-point territory. That’s not even close to the ideal mark that the Milwaukee Bucks need from their guards.

It can be concluded that Eric Bledsoe was a liability offensively against the Heat, similar to how he was against the Raptors in 2019 and the Celtics in 2018. Even though he’s an All-NBA defender, the Bucks need to realize that they can’t win a championship with Bledsoe as the starting point guard.

After three disappointing postseason exits in a row now with Bledsoe serving as a popular scapegoat, it could be time to part ways with the 30-year-old veteran out of Kentucky.

Like the Three Strikes Law explains, “Three strikes and you’re out.”